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On December 11, 2025, Halifax Regional Council approved the Planning Changes to Support Housing amendments, including amendments to Short-Term Rental regulations for six rural plan areas (staff report).

On December 31, 2025, the planning documents were referred to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Per HRM Charter section 223(7), on January 31, 2026, the planning documents were deemed to be approved. This Notice of Approval was posted on Monday, February 2, 2026 in accordance with the requirements of the Halifax Regional Municipality Charter.

The planning documents are now in effect as of Monday, February 2, 2026.


Background

On February 21, 2023, Regional Council approved amendments to municipal plans and land use by-laws to establish consistent region-wide policies and regulations for short-term rentals (STRs). On September 1, 2023, new STRs land-use by-law regulations came into effect for all of HRM. This was done by:

  • distinguishing between commercial and residential STRs, and limiting commercial STRs to areas with other commercial uses (e.g., commercial and mixed-use zones);
  • limiting residential STR units to only those that are the primary residence of the operator; and,
  • permitting short-term bedroom rentals widely in residential areas as an accessory use.

Previously, there were no consistent land-use by-law regulations in place for STRs. The amendments clarified where STRs are permitted, and where STRs must be located within the primary residence of the host. For more information, please see the staff report.(External link)

Regional Council then directed staff to examine whether the rural areas of the municipality required a different regulatory approach. For clarity, ‘rural’ means areas of the municipality that are located outside of the urban settlement boundary. Please click the interactive map below to determine if your property is located in the rural area: Rural Short-term Rentals (STR) Interactive Map.

The municipality’s rural areas make up a vast amount of land, spanning from Hubbards to Ecum Secum. There are numerous natural tourist attractions in these areas, such as Peggy’s Cove, Lawrencetown Beach, and Martinique Beach. Many of the rural communities in the municipality include cottage-style developments, such as seasonal dwellings.

Since 2001, a tourist accommodation of one dwelling unit is permitted on every property in most of the western regions of the municipality, in communities such as Hubbards, Tantallon, Ketch Harbour, and the Prospect area. In the eastern regions, zoning is flexible and allows commercial uses as-of-right, including short-term rentals.

To support tourism of the local rural economy and to promote consistency across planning documents for rural communities, municipal staff are recommending allowing one dwelling unit per lot to be used as a STR without being the host’s primary residence in the following six rural plan areas:

  • Eastern Shore (West)
  • Eastern Shore (East)
  • Lawrencetown
  • Musquodoboit Valley & Dutch Settlement
  • Planning Districts 8 & 9
  • Planning Districts 14 & 17

The map below shows the rural areas within HRM where commercial short-term rentals are currently permitted (in Grey). The areas in yellow indicate where commercial short-term rentals are not currently permitted and would be most impacted by these amendments. More information can be found in staff report.


Proposal

Amendments may also be considered to the regulation of STRs for three more plan areas with additional public engagement recommended. These Plan Areas are:

• Eastern Passage/Cow Bay

• North Preston/Lake Major/Lake Loon/Cherry Brook/East Preston

• Beaver Bank/Hammonds Plains/Upper Sackville

These plan areas include communities with a range of settlement types, including those that are rural in nature as well as those with a more suburban character. Communities like Hammonds Plains and Cow Bay are partially serviced, have a more suburban context influenced by their proximity to the Urban Service Area boundary, and it is not clear the extent to which these areas may be a draw for tourist accommodation.

There are also a number of historic African Nova Scotian (ANS) communities in these plan areas, including East Preston, North Preston, Cherry Brook/ Lake Loon, Lucasville and Upper Hammonds Plains. Through the endorsement of the Road to Economic Prosperity Plan and the African Nova Scotian Community Action Planning program (ANSCAP), the Municipality has committed to engaging with ANS Communities on any proposed changes to land use regulations that would affect ANS communities. There are active Community Action Planning processes ongoing in Lucasville and Upper Hammonds Plains (located within the Beaver Bank/ Hammonds Plains/ Upper Sackville Plan Area).

Therefore, Staff are undertaking additional engagement, including three separate surveys for residents of these three plan areas, to inform an approach to STR regulations that reflects the context of each settlement.


Learn More

To learn more about the project, please reach out to the project team by email:

  • Yanan Gou, Planner III, at Yanan.Gou@halifax.ca

Survey